My Dear Martha Washington
by remuslupin31060
Summary: Warning: The Angels Take Manhattan Spoilers! River decides to cheer the Doctor up by suggesting he take her on an adventure. When they accidentally stumble upon a lonely Martha Washington in her sitting room, where will they take her? And what will they show her that will change her and her husband's lives forever? Will the Doctor learn anything? Comments are greatly appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

River was sitting in the Tardis living room when the Doctor got back from visiting little Amelia. He was still upset that they were both gone, though reading the last page with Amy's note had really helped. He leaned against the doorway and watched his wife, who was reading. Without looking up, she patted the spot next to her on the sofa.

"Come sit."

The Doctor walked over to her, in that bouncy strut he so often used, and sat down close. She immediately shifted her weight against him and leaned her head on his shoulder, partly out of habit. He sighed, a sigh that would be let out at the end of a very long day and took her hand. They sat in silence for a little while.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking straight ahead.

"You've already said-"

"I know. It's not enough, they were your parents, I should have been more careful."

"What's done is done, and you couldn't control it. I don't blame you for anything that happened. Just know that they'll be happy together."

He sighed again. "I know."

"Okay, I know what'll cheer you up," she said with a slight smile, repositioning her head on his shoulder. "Take me on an adventure."

He moved his head up sharply. "Where do you want to go?"

"Surprise me."

He thought for a moment. "Go get a colonial style dress and meet me in the console room."

With that he jumped up and pulled her along behind him. When they reached the door, he stopped to kiss her on the cheek quickly before running off to send the Tardis back in time. River smiled, watching him go. He was excited, and she couldn't wait to see where he would take her, and what sort of trouble he would get them in this time.


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor looked up and smiled as River walked down the stairs to the Tardis console. She was wearing a dark red colonial style dress with lace sleeves and a puffy skirt. He thought she looked stunning.

He pulled one more lever and listened as the Tardis landed. Then, gesturing to the door, "My lady."

River opened the door and stepped out- right in the middle of someone's parlor. There was a woman standing in the very middle with her mouth open wide, just staring. That was the exciting part about traveling with the Doctor: no matter how long you've been traveling with him, every trip is always a surprise, sometimes even to him.

He stepped out of his blue box behind her and stopped short. "Now I… Oh… Oops."

The woman standing before them began to slowly back up, dropping her knitting on the floor.

"I know this looks bad, but-"

"River," the Doctor said, interrupting her. "This is Martha Washington. This is George Washington's wife."


	3. Chapter 3

"We really must be going," River said, moving to take a step back.

"Wait. What's the date today?" The Doctor asked, looking at Martha.

"January 3, 1777."

He looked at River. "She's alone," he whispered.

"No. We can't interfere with her time stream. We could create a paradox, drastically change America."

"Please? Just one?" He sounded like a child begging his mother for a cookie.

She sighed. "Fine. But if something happens you're the one who's going to straighten it out. I'm not helping this time."

"You always say that."

Turning to the wife of the commander in chief of the Continental Army, he sat her down and ran back to his own wife. "I'm going to make plans. You can explain." He pointed at her out of excitement and disappeared back into the Tardis, leaving a grinning River behind.

She knew why he had stayed. He had sensed, as had she, the loneliness in the little parlor as well as in the eyes of Martha Washington. He had taken it upon himself to make that go away, at least for a little while. They were going to give this woman, who they barely knew, what he wanted with Amy and Rory. If this would make him feel better, then she would help, no matter what the risk.

She walked over and sat next to Martha. "I know you're frightened, but I need you to listen to me. My husband and I travel through time in that box and we'd like you to come with us."

"That's impossible." Martha just couldn't see how a big blue box could appear out of nowhere in her home.

"But it's not. We came from the future, he and I. _Please_ trust me."

Martha thought for a few moments. She didn't know these people, yet there was something about them both that made her trust them. If they could travel through time, could they take her to see George? That was the one thing that kept running through her head when she'd heard the word 'travel'. It was worth a try. So, against every instinct in her body, she answered. "Okay."

"I'm River and that was the Doctor. The box is called the Tardis. 1777, this is the American Revolution, then? There's a war on?"

Martha nodded.

"And your husband, George. You must miss him." Another nod. "There are times when I go without seeing the Doctor for a while, too. Oh, how I miss him. I'll sit in my house, wondering when and where we'll go next. Sometimes I wonder if he misses me as much as I miss him. And if I didn't know better, I'd say that he's standing in front of the Tardis right now, listening."

He was. Then again, when wasn't he? She should have realized that would happen. He acted as though he hadn't heard though, and she was grateful.

"Anywhere in time and space! I can take you to Mars, if you'd like. Would you like to go to Mars?" the Doctor asked.

"Can… Can you take me to see the General? To see George?"

He looked disappointed. "You want to stay on the same _continent?_ In the same _time period?_"

"If that's where she'd like to go, then that's where we'll take her." River had a level of understanding with Martha that even the Doctor didn't share.

"Okay. Suit yourself. Oh, and before you go into the Tardis, be warned: it's bigger on the inside."

She smiled, not really believing him. The Doctor took his wife's hand and they walked into the Tardis, Martha right behind. When she saw how big the mysterious box was, her mouth opened, and she stuck her head back outside. River and the Doctor exchanged a knowing glance.

Martha Washington stepped back inside the and took a deep breath. "Okay."

"You handled that pretty well,"River said.

"Compared to others," the Doctor finished for her.

"You appeared out of nowhere in the middle of my parlor and told me that you're from the future. At this point I'm expecting everything to be a surprise."

"Oh, it is," River muttered.

"Hey!" The Doctor said, and she grinned. Then, to Martha, "I'll need something of your husband's so I can latch onto his time stream. That way you can see him in the present."

Not bothering to ask about the last part of his explanation, she went to grab his jacket.

"I'm glad we're doing this, Doctor. She's worried about her husband, I can tell." River could always tell when it came to things like that.

"Yeah. Me too." It was obvious that he was still upset. When he gets upset, it's like a part of him goes missing, and she wished she could do something to make him better.

Before she could say something, however, Martha came back carrying a dark brown riding coat. The Doctor took it from her and messes with the Tardis a bit. She had clung to the railing the whole time, and when they landed, she raced to the door.

"He'll be here, then? I'll get to see him?"

"Yep. January 3, 1777. I think we're in Princeton."

She flung open the door of the Tardis. They were definitely in Princeton, no doubt, but they had not expected to show up in the middle of a battlefield.


	4. Chapter 4

There was a loud crack, and the Doctor beckoned quickly to General George Washington, with blue uniform and white horse, to come into the Tardis. He really would have had no choice anyway, for he had been riding in that direction when it had appeared and it was too late to slow down his horse. In a split second, George, horse and all, was in the Tardis and the Doctor had sent them to a different spot in time.

Climbing off the horse, he took his wife in his arms and held her for a few moments. She brought a hand to his check and looked him in the eye.

"That was a cannon, wasn't it? That noise. It was a cannon fired by the British." She got no answer from her husband. "You could have died!"

"I would have been fine." George wanted nothing more than to calm his wife down. Where he was had not yet registered in his mind.

"It was going right at you, you would not have been! You're lucky we showed up!"

Remembering that they were not alone, they turned suddenly towards the Doctor and River.

George seemed startled. "Where are we? My men are out there."

"Now, now, don't worry. I've got it all under control," the Doctor said in that tone of his. "Battle of Princeton," he added to River as a side note.

Martha gave an explanation as to what was going on, with some interventions when needed by the Doctor and River. George was politely more concerned about his wife's well being than the form of the Tardis.

"Can we go to Mars _now?"_ the Doctor asked, receiving an eye roll from River.

"You and I can go to Mars next, sweetie," she said, touching his arm.

Martha looked at George, who was standing quietly next to her. There was a look in his eye, something he was trying to hide so she wouldn't be worried.

"You're losing hope," she said. "Why? You won the last battle on Christmas night."

"I'm not."

She brought a hand to his shoulder. "George."

He sighed. "I don't think there is a way we can end the war with America as the victor.

"If you give up now those men will too. You can't lose hope."

"I think we can help with that," the Doctor said, finally finding a way to get into the conversation.

"Doctor, we can't," River said quietly. "We take them to the future and they'll know how everything turns out."

"I know I shouldn't. They're alone even though they're surrounded by swarms of people; they're losing hope. I understand that feeling, and you've felt it, too," he whispered back to her.

She looked at him for a moment and exhaled. "I know. I'm going to regret this later but I think I agree."

He smiled and started walking around the Tardis console, pushing and pulling at various parts.

"Where are we going?" George asked.

"The future," the Doctor replied, and before he could get any protests, landed the Tardis someplace new. TakingRiver's hand he walked with her to the door and opened it. "See for yourselves."


	5. Chapter 5

"April 30, 1789," the Doctor said as the four of them stepped out into the middle of a thick crowd.

George, Martha on his arm, asked, "What area are we in?"

"New York. This is Wall Street."

Both Martha and George looked a bit breathless from the time travel, though both acted as though it was completely normal. They had trusted the mysterious couple almost instantly.

The large crowd was assembled around a balcony, on which stood multiple people, all in fancy dress. Martha recognized a few of the people, including Robert Livingston and John Adams. The one she did not expect to see, though, was an older version of her husband, dressed in a new brown outfit. "George! That's you!"

Seeing the somewhat frightened look on his wife's face, he looked closely and saw that it was indeed himself. Taken aback, he looked at the Doctor, who said, "That's future you."

There was no time for a reply, however, for Robert Livingston had started talking. The Future George was being sworn in as President of the United States!

Martha and George looked at each other with their mouths wide.

"This is your first Inauguration," the Doctor said from behind them. River had linked her arm through his and they were watching those on the balcony intently.

Future George had one hand rested on a bible as he made his oath to the new country. When they were finished, Robert Livingston, who had sworn the President in, shouted, "Long live George Washington, the first President of the United States!" The crowd screamed it back and cheered quite loudly for their new leader.

"Time to go," the Doctor said, opening the door of the Tardis and following River inside. Before doing the same, George took one last look at his future self and, for a brief moment, caught his eye. His hopes had been restored.


	6. Chapter 6

"So where to next?" the Doctor asked, looking at the others with excitement.

"I should be getting back to my men, actually," George said, patting the horse that was standing by the Tardis console.

"But I can take you back. We can travel for months and I can take you back to the exact time I picked you up."

"I mustn't wait. Though I do believe I have a small while to see my wife home first."

The Doctor's face fell. "Oh. Okay. Mount Vernon it is, then." River helped him land the Tardis at the Washington home, and they all stepped into the very parlor they had been in before. He and River stood to the side as George and Martha exchanged goodbyes.

"I'll see you soon enough," George said, pulling his wife into a hug.

"Stay safe."

"Always." He stepped back, ready to go.

"Are you sure you don't want to travel with me?" the Doctor asked Martha, hopeful.

"I shouldn't," she replied. "Knowing one's own future is dangerous. Besides, I wouldn't go without George. Though I must thank you for what you have shown us. You've given us hope."

The Doctor gave a small smile, but River saw through it. "Any day.

They stepped into the Tardis and disappeared. As the Doctor and River put in the right coordinates for the General's return, George mounted his horse.

"When I ride out, I'll be exactly where I was before?"  
"At the exactly the same time, yes," River replied.

"The cannon, will it be there?"

"We've set the Tardis right in front of it, so you'll be fine. You'll want to get ready to leave now."

"Thank you for everything," he said, shaking the Doctor's hand and kissing River's courteously. "The army could use another doctor, if you're interested."

The Doctor smiled. "I couldn't."

"I must bid you farewell, then. Lady Washington and I will be remembering this for a very long time." He pulled the reins of his horse and rode out of the Tardis yelling battle instructions to his men as he did so.

"Did anyone see the Tardis?" River asked when they had moved to a different location.

"There was smoke from the cannon, so no. We saved _George Washington's_ life. Men all around him are wounded, and he just rides out from the smoke like nothing happened. I'd never have thought that was our doing."

"A great mystery has been solved, then." She grinned at him, and he grinned back.

He looked at her, wondering if he should say what he wanted to and deciding that he might as well. "They're apart a lot." He felt bad for them.

River took his hand. She knew what he was really thinking about. "Amy and Rory will be fine. They're together, and they live a long, happy life."

"I should have done more."

"You couldn't have. You did everything you could, and you can't blame yourself. Think of the Washingtons: they were apart for so long and they were still happy. We helped them, too; you should be proud."

The Doctor didn't say anything, but River knew that he felt better. It was in his eyes.

"Do you want to go on that adventure now?" he asked her.

"You mean the one you were going to take me on before you messes up and landed us in the middle of Martha Washington's parlor? I'd love to."

He smiled, set some coordinates in the Tardis, and took his wife's hand. He lead her out of the Tardis and closed the door behind them.


	7. The Epilogue of the Washingtons

Epilogue:

Martha looked up at George with pride as she straightened his brown jacket. He smiled and took her hand.

"It's this day already," he said.

"You've come so far since we met the Doctor," his wife replied.

"President of the United States. I still remember that day. I'll get to see us from past." There had never been one day when either of the couple had not been affected by what the Doctor and his wife had shown them.

Later on he would look off the balcony into the crowd, making eye contact with his past self. And it would change his and Martha's lives forever.


End file.
